30 May 2007

Ugly dolls

In the Swedish comprehensive school ( age 7 to 16) you have handicraft lessons once a week. One semester you study textile handicraft and the next semester you study woodwork and this continue throughout your school years. Once a week you also study art and drawing and have music lessons. This is enormously important for the creativity and the teacher has a very important role in giving the pupils an opportunity to explore their creative side and in giving them self confidence by telling them that they are good and gifted. Not all teachers have this gift however. My old textile teacher in school definitely didn’t. We knitted mittens and crocheted kettle-holders. My kettle-holders were never square and my teacher made me feel that I was a lost case! Thankfully my mother was a great inspiration instead and thought me how to embroider and use a sewing machine.





This is Eva. She is my daughter’s textile teacher in school. And she’s a good role model indeed. Not only has she got textile lessons bur she also started a work shop after school so that the pupils could improve their skills even more. Each semester the pupils have an exhibition were they show all the things they have made during the semester. Dresses, skirts, pillows, soft toys, bags and much more is displayed in the school library and all the pupils and the teachers come and admire the work.

This year they also had an ugly dolls competition. While making the ugly doll they trained to go from a drawing to a finished doll by way of making their own pattern. The youngest pupils were nine and the eldest twelve.



My daughter loves her handicraft lessons and is very creative at home as well. And last Christmas she got her best present ever – her very own sewing machine !

5 comments:

molly jean said...

Wonderful imaginative dolls! She looks like a good teacher! I love that textile arts and skills are still used and used creatively!

My daughter is creative too, as was my mother and both grandmothers. At 90 years old one of my grandmother still quilts, actually does the piecing and has her quilt machine quilted because of arthritis.

Annika said...

Ja, kattmönstret är verkligen simpelt, det är bara fasta maskor, runt runt i spiraler. När man ökar virkar man två i samma och när man minskar gör man ett genomdrag i en maska, ett genomdrag i nästa maska och sen tar man ett omtag och drar genom båda.

Tyvärr virkar jag inte på beställning, jag tycker det dödar lusten litegrann när det blir ett måste. Jag vill bara virka det jag har lust med, när jag har lust. Däremot går det bra att köpa redan färdiga saker som har "blivit över", men just nu är det bara katten inlagd 22 mars (den med randig mage) och den rosa apan från 11 mars. Om du vill ha mer info så kan du gärna mejla mig på hej_annika@yahoo.se

suzanne cabrera said...

Wow, I want to go to school in Sweden and I want Eva to be my instructor. This looks like great fun!

Trolltygsängeln said...

Läste i ditt "huvud" och tänkte... min dotter har i flera år sagt att generna till den konstnärliga delen av vår familj hoppat över henne, men plötsligt en dag när jag la fram annat material för henne att jobba med lossnade det. Hon fick världens kram av bildfröken och ett stort MVG - sen har det bara rullat på. Idag behöver hon fortfarande lite hjälp att hitta rätt materisl men ideer och tankar är hennes.. hon har t.o.m börjat teckna.

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Jane LaFazio said...

ugly dolls! too cute for words. Okay, I'm 'borrowing' that lesson for the 4th and 5th graders that I teach art.